Ryanair Announces Creation of In-Flight Porn App

One of Europe’s largest low-cost airlines, Ryanair, recently announced the possibility of allowing pay-per-view porn on its flights for passengers with iPads or smartphones.

The airline wants to allow passengers to gamble, watch movies or view porn – all for a fee. The company’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, told the British tabloid The Sun, “I’m not talking about having it (porn) on screens on the back of seats for everyone to see. It would be on handheld devices.”

Morality in Media, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about the harms of pornography, isn’t sky-high about the idea. It announced in a statement Thursday that it is calling on U.S. citizens and pro-family organizations to contact Ryanair and ask them not to make the app available to passengers.

Lesley Bateman, spokesperson for MIM, told The Christian Post it is also reaching out to European pro-family organizations this week to get support from them and to ask them to contact the airlines.

Within hours of MIM sending out an initial email to raise awareness for the Ryanair App, Bateman says the organization received over 200 emails from people asking to sign up to help its cause.

MIM is not only concerned with the implications of in-flight porn, but also for what it might mean if Ryanair expands to U.S. destinations. Dawn Hawkins, executive director of MIM, said in a statement, "Ryanair, which hopes to expand its market to U.S. destinations, is creating an unsafe environment for every individual who travels on their planes."

According to Hawkins, research demonstrates pornography consumption is a leading cause of sexual violence and sexual assault, as well as a significant contributing factor to sex trafficking. It is also addictive and dangerous for children, who will no doubt be exposed to it if allowed on planes.

A website called PornHarms.com, recommended by MIM, has peer-reviewed research on the effects of porn on children. It found “90 percent of 8-16 year olds have viewed porn online.” It also says pornography gives children unrealistic ideas about sex and “with over 90 percent of youth ages 12-18 using the Internet, the media have arguably become the leading sex educator in the U.S. today instead of parents and school education programs.”

MIM also raises concerns over the effects of the app on women passengers. “I cannot imagine being a woman on an airplane and the man next to me is watching pornography. In the workplace, [that] would constitute sexual harassment,” Bateman said. Airplanes, especially cramped Ryanair flights, do not provide much privacy even if you do have a personal handheld device to viewing movies or porn.

It’s possible that the porn announcement is a publicity stunt. In 2009, O’Leary said Ryanair was considering charging passengers £1 to use the toilet on its flights. A week later, the CEO admitted it was a gimmick to generate cheap media attention for the company.

The airline began operations in 1985 and since then has extended routes throughout Europe and Morocco. Today, they operate more than 1,400 flights per day. They also originated carry-on baggage fees. Ryanair says the plan for Pay-for-Porn could take at least a year to take flight, given the high cost of securing a powerful enough broadband connection for their planes.

Patrick A. Trueman, MIM's president and CEO, urges all travelers to avoid using Ryanair Airlines and asks people to contact the company immediately by email to object to porn on its flights.